New Ballarat saleyards site to be built near Miners Rest

It will be
located on the north west corner of the Western Highway and Sunraysia Highway
intersection, near Miners Rest.

A contract on the parcel of land has been
signed by Palisade Investment Partners, whose saleyard arm is current Gillies
Street saleyard operators Regional Infrastructure.

Palisade's managing
director Ian Mitchell said consideration had been given to a range of factor
when choosing the site, including road and transport infrastructure, noise and
odour management and the ability to have a sustainable onsite water capture and
effluent management system.

"After nearly three years of searching, assessing
and validating up to 20 different land options within the Ballarat City Council
region, the preferred location has finally been confirmed," Mr Mitchell
said.

Ballarat mayor John Burt said the council was eager to deliver a
saleyard for the community. A series of community and stakeholder engagement
sessions will begin early next year.

Regional Infrastructure has operated the current Gillies Street saleyards since May 2010 and will run the new state-of-the-art Central Victorian Livestock Exchange when it opens, which is predicted to be March 2015.

A revised contract between Regional Infrastructure and Ballarat City Council was announced in late August after a lengthy delay in naming the proposed site.

In May, Mr Edwards said legal issues with the land owners was holding up the announcement. The company has looked at several sites around Ballarat, including Miners Rest, Windermere and Lake Burrumbeet.